1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to packaging and, more specifically, to a method and material for packaging. The use of Styrofoam in packing is well known. It comes in the form of granular packing material or formed into inserts that are designed for specific applications. The present invention is concerned with improving the use and handling of Styrofoam packing material.
The improved packing material is achieved by adding strengthening elements to Styrofoam. The first configuration is composed of a Styrofoam core having a polyethylene or stretch film bonded to the upper and lower surface of the Styrofoam material. The coating materials improve the characteristic of Styrofoam by dispersing a load force across the material. Styrofoam is a very brittle packaging material. Any force tends to fracture the Styrofoam into a number of pieces. The present invention overcomes these shortcomings by reinforcing the upper and/or lower surface with an adhesively attached structural material enhancement material which does nor necessarily contribute to the rigidity of the product. The film applied to the exterior surface of the intended Styrofoam permits the product to be bent in curvilinear fashion.
By adding a cardboard layer by adhesive means either as an additional layer or substituting one or both of the film layer forms a product that can be die cut which will replace the need for formed Styrofoam in many applications. The die cut material can be shipped in a substantially planar form and assembled on the job site. The application of the product as shown in the accompanying drawings is for illustrative purposes and is not intended to limit the application of the product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other methods and materials used in packaging. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,705 issued to Evamy on Sep. 4, 1990.
Another patent was issued to Mykleby on Jul. 13, 1982 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,039. Yet another U.S. Patent No. 5,132,156 was issued to Trassare, Jr., et al. on Jul. 21, 1992 and still yet another was issued on Mar. 3, 1981 to D""Angelo et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,892.
There is described a package comprising a container and a lining, the package including at least one slot to receive a tab. The slot is bounded on one side by the container and on the other side by the cushioning material, which is formed with an abutment surface facing away from the entrance to the slot, and the tab includes a detent capable of engaging the abutment surface to resist withdrawal of the tab from the slot. Preferably the container is formed from folded sheet material, the lining being either a separately formed body or a plurality of tablets of cushioning material bonded to the interior surfaces of the container. The detent may be a strip of sheet material hingedly connected to the tab, or may be formed from within the tab itself.
A cushion for packaging an article in a container comprising flexible foam material and a pliable non-porous cover contiguously surrounding the foam material. The cover may include a lip which may be secured to the container. A plurality of air vents in the cover adjacent the lip control the flow of air out of the cover when the foam is compressed. By controlling the air flow out of the foam material, the dynamic resistance of the cushion may be increased, so that more force is absorbed by the cushion when an external force is applied to the container than would be absorbed if exposed foam material were used. A plurality of cushions may be secured to the inside of the container to hold the article snugly in place.
A void filler (14, 16) especially suited for filling large volumes is made from first and second panels (18, 20), each panel having a core (26) sandwiched between face sheets (22, 24). The core is typically a corrugated honeycomb core so that the panel is stiff, strong and yet lightweight. The panels each have generally horizontal upper and lower edges (30, 32) and generally vertical first and second (34, 36) edges. The panels are connected at a hinge (44) along their upper edges. A limiter (50), attached at or near the lower edges, limits the movement of the lower edges away from one another so the panels can move from a flat, storage condition to a use condition, exhibiting a generally inverted V-shape. Two void fillers can be hingedly connected to form an M-shaped void filler assembly (2). The void fillers are typically used between a container bulkhead (10) and a load (8); the upper and lower edges of the void filler are aligned between the load and the bulkhead so the forces on the void filler are exerted on the generally vertical edges during transit.
Method and apparatus are described for making cushioned shipping packet bags. A pocket within the cushioned bag is defined between two resilient, lightweight, flexible cushioning layers of polypropylene microfoam material which advantageously exhibits a relatively xe2x80x9cnon-slipxe2x80x9d frictional gripping action on the item or items contained within the sealed packet bag. The cushioned bag is produced on a continuous motion machine having capability for adjusting the length and width of the cushioned bags produced. Two packages can be simultaneously produced end-to-end when their combined lengths do not exceed the overall width of the machine. To enable the protective outer Kraft paper layers of the bag to be sealed together in spite of the intervening polypropylene material, this material is burned away from between the outer layers during the heat sealing of a polyethylene coating on the inner surfaces of the Kraft paper enclosure by heat energy conducted through the Kraft paper.
While these methods and materials used in packaging may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.
The present invention discloses a packing material comprised of a Styrofoam core having a polyethylene or stretch film bonded by adhesive to the upper and lower surface of the Styrofoam material. The coating materials improve the characteristic of Styrofoam by dispersing a load force across the material. A corrugated layer may be added by adhesive means either as an additional layer or substituting for one or both of the film layers and thereby forms a product that can be die cut which will replace the need for formed Styrofoam in many applications. The die cut material can be shipped in a substantially planar form and assembled on the job site. The edge of the Styrofoam core may be coated with an additional adhesive layer for attachment thereto of a peel-away protective layer.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a packaging material that will overcome the shortcomings of Styrofoam.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a packaging material having a Styrofoam core having an upper an lower surface comprised of a polyethylene-like film.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a packaging material having a Styrofoam core having an upper and lower surface comprised of a corrugated cardboard.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a packaging material having a Styrofoam core having an upper and lower surface comprised of a combination of polyethylene film and/or corrugated cardboard.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a packaging material that can be die-cut to form a holder insert for the support of a packaged item.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a packaging material that can be die-cut to a plurality of specifications and assembled at a remote site to form a holder insert for the support of a packaged item.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a packaging material that forms an integral part of a shipping container.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a shipping container having a packaging material fixed to at least one side whereby a shipping item can be enfolded therein and supported thereby.
Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a method and material for packaging. The material is composed of a Styrofoam core having a polyethylene or stretch film bonded to the upper and lower surface of the Styrofoam core. The coating materials improve the characteristic of Styrofoam by dispersing a load force across the material. The film applied to the exterior surface of the intended Styrofoam permits the product to be bent in curvilinear fashion.
By adding a cardboard layer by adhesive means either as an additional layer or substituting one or both of the film layers forms a product that can be die cut which will replace the need for formed Styrofoam in many applications. The die cut material can be shipped in a substantially planar form and assembled on the job site. The application of the product as shown in the accompanying drawings is for illustrative purposes and is not intended to limit the application of the product.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawings, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views.
The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.